On Blogging

We’re discussing the purpose of blogging – for both students and teachers – in one of my school’s PLCs. “Why blog?” is an often explored area in circles increasingly concerned with 21st Century Skills. I think one of the reasons this question can be tricky to answer is that the notion of a “blog” is now wrapped up in magical pseudo-edu-myth. It’s one of those things that those progressive “others” do, one of those things that happen in those classrooms that a neo-traditionalist might dismiss as innovative mumbo-jumbo. Exactly what a “blog” is is also hard to pin down because, predominantly, it is a medium, rather than a genre, with a diversity of styles and purposes.

Google’s definition from the Oxford Pocket Dictionary of Current Usage

When you think of other mediums of communication, we rarely need to get to a point where we need to justify the decision to use the medium itself. We don’t ask, “Why do we write on paper?” or “Why do we take photographs?” Similarly, we don’t feel the need to justify “styles” of writing in our educational decision-making. We don’t feel a pressing philosophical need to ask, “Why write conversationally?” or “Why write in an esoteric academic voice?”

So, given Google’s definition, that a blog is a “regularly updated web page” that is written in a “conversational style”, this means when we ask, “Why blog?” we are really asking, “Why regularly update a web page in a conversational manner?” or, even more simply, “Why regularly self-publish?” And the answer to this question depends on the context and purposes of publication.

In an educational setting, whether students or teachers are the authors, there are two ways you might look at the general purpose of blogging:

Personal perspective: To reflect by organising and crystallising your thinking on your chosen topic(s), over time, accountable to a public audience.

Community perspective: To build connections and contribute to conversations with a wider, public audience, over time.

Now, we need to ask, if we are to blog, how might this help our own or our students’ learning? The elements which are of potential educational merit (but please don’t confuse this with some educational magic bullet) include:

1) The conversational style and commenting features of the medium promote socially constructedreflection

I am no expert in either Lev Vygotsky’s (social constructivism) or Ericsson’s research (deliberate practice), beyond the now ingrained takeaways of which I am probably no longer conscious. However, I will summarise what I perceive to be of practical importance.

The process of learning is social. We understand this implicitly when we take on the roles of teacher and student and believe that by putting people in a room together, learning can happen. And blogging, more so than, say, writing in a notebook, opens up our learning so that it is easily accessed by peers anywhere with an internet connection: it gives you an expanded, flexible, networked learning environment. Furthermore, the very fact that there are many potential readers, separated in both space and time (it could be your employee five years down the line), mean that the stakes for students and teachers writing in this medium are higher – it provokes both teachers and students alike to be practising writing and sharing their thinking that much more deliberately than they otherwise might.

Now, not everything is enhanced by blogging. Students should not be overwhelmed by those higher stakes without first preparing them with an appropriate degree of competence and understanding. The same goes for teachers. However, encouraging teachers and students to switch some of their written thinking to a blogging medium is only likely to enhance learning, rather than hinder it.

And, if you’re convinced, here are three simple principles to help your student blogs flourish.

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Published by Phil B

I am an international school teacher, currently based in Switzerland. I have done my very best to teach subjects like English language and literature, media, humanities and Theory of Knowledge over the last decade. Sometimes, it has also felt like students learned something about those subjects, but that's a much more contentious issue.
I am a father of three daughters, a husband to a very forgiving wife, a sport enthusiast, an insomniac (parenting induced), a reader (nightowl), occasional cyclist (parenting induced), thinker, rambler, a parent of three (did I mention that), an enthusiastic skeptic, and tired.
And I'll give most things a go - hence this blog!
Check out my Twitter feed on @mrphilbruce
View all posts by Phil B

“Positively leveraging the panopticon of social media can promote deliberate practice of these reflection skills.” Poignant and poetic. Our approaches to reflection need to be intentional if we want authentic, fresh thinking as opposed to students (and ourselves) simply writing what they think their teachers want to them say.

Thanks Phil for sharing your views on blogging. Makes me reflect on my on blogging and the way I used to use mine. A great way to reflect on your thoughts and get to share it with others, with the extra advantage of getting invaluable feedback from people you might have never met otherwise. Time for me to get my act together and start blogging again!

Some very compelling arguments about a platform of conversation that I am generally a bit skeptical of. When my TOK students blog, I find that the narrative form of the platform really suits the nature of the course. Student blogs that explore knowledge claims often feel more personal and genuine than does a typical TOK presentation or essay. You’ve reminded me to get back blogging in class. Thanks man.

Thank your for your post, Phil. I appreciate your thoughts on the social aspect of blogging — that writing knowing that there will be an audience makes a difference. Hey, and I learned a new word: panopticon! I also like that you point out that a blog is just a medium for communication and for reflection. It’s so true, when you look at different blogs, you notice that it’s about developing your own unique style and voice. This takes time, but the more you write, the closer you get to finding your style and voice.
Cheers, Valerie